Student Wellness

A year in the making, Virginia Tech on Friday released a methodology intended to meaningfully curb campus and off-campus alcohol misuse and abuse and related harmful behaviors during the next five to seven years.

Water has always been intrinsic to the experience of attending St. Mary's College of Maryland, but that legacy took a new turn this week when hundreds of students learned that mold would force them to spend the rest of the semester living on a 300-foot cruise ship, docked beside campus on the St. Mary's River.

A string of sexual assault allegations at three University of Minnesota fraternities on consecutive weekends last fall shook the U's Greek community. The incidents and the resulting six-week moratorium on alcohol at parties spawned changes: At Homecoming fraternity parties this weekend, rules about alcohol use were tighter than a year ago. Some houses brought in private security.

Generally, a college trumpets the news when it is declared in the Top 20 of anything. The exception: When Tulane University was ranked 20th for the number of students -- 163, as of June -- who had signed up for seekingarrangement.com, a five-year-old website that pairs young "Sugar Babies" with "Sugar Daddies" and "Sugar Mommies" who are generally older and definitely well-heeled.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 — Universities and colleges, non-profit organizations, and private and public employers alike are endeavoring to promote commuting by bike as an environmentally friendly and healthful transportation alternative. However, the lack of a practical and reliable way to tally bike trips has held back their efforts to encourage and reward biking. At the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) annual conference in Pittsburgh, Dero announced the solution: Dero ZAP.

Calling herself “the victim of a character assassination,” the college professor who asked a student with a severe stutter not to pose questions in class said that her actions were misinterpreted, and that she did not mean to silence him.

Advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students lauded Elmhurst College in Illinois as the first in the nation to ask applicants about sexual orientation — an idea that has gotten little traction elsewhere. Now the question is, will other colleges follow suit?

After months of lobbying by the gay community, Grand Valley State University quietly changed their policy this fall to include a “gender neutral” option for gay or transgender students to check on their housing application.